Withered Hand and Brazilian Criolo at Celtic Connections 2015

Tonight was an unexpected pairing. Scottish indie rocker Withered hand (aka Dan Wilson) has been gathering top reviews for his albums and The Herald recently listed his album as the top Scottish album of 2014.

The busy ABC crowd were mainly there to see Brazilian rapper and hip hop artist Criolo, but Withered Hand and his six piece band received a warm welcome and they played a strong set with both thoughtful and upbeat songs.

He sang with his band that consisted of cello, accordion, bass, guitar, drums and backing singer. Songs included - King of Hollywood (dedicated to Chuck Berry), Fall Apart, New Roads, Religious Song. His music is a all about the song stories and catchy hooks that stand above many songs today - he writes songs to get lost in.

Wilson's first studio album, Good News and 2014 album, New Gods have been released in both the UK and US. He performed at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas in 2014, as part of the Scottish Showcase.  http://witheredhand.com

 

Next up was Brazilian rapper, singer songwriter and hip hop artist Criolo who owned the ABC stage as he danced and acted out his songs and with many Glasgow fans there ready to rock also and enjoy the show. He performed with his band, that included keys, bass, guitar and drums, a dynamically energized set. 

Withered Hand joined Criolo on stage with his guitar for one song in the spirit of the festival's dynamic and wide-ranging collaborations. Criolo was highly entertaining and the audience danced and jumped along to his tracks. His music mixes Afrobeats, soul, samba, and reggae. He certainly brought his sunshine rhythms to a cold Glasgow night.

In 2011 “Nó na Orelha” won Best Album at the Brazilian Music Video Awards. http://www.criolo.net/convoqueseubuda/

It was hard to see the Celtic connections here except that the music festival does encourage music voices world wide – from roots, folk, world and indie.  Music at Celtic is not about the mainstream, but rather about quality and challenging new boundaries.

Martyn Bennett’s GRIT, Connections Connections 2015

We were treated to an outstanding Celtic Connections Opening Concert - 'Nae Regrets'

Highly innovative. Multi-talented, multi-layered orchestra. Put a smile on my face.

Martyn Bennett's 2003 GRIT was given its live premier with a colourful score by composer Greg Lawson and the concert proved one of the best events I've been to at Celtic Connections music festival.

Bennett was a Scottish musician and composer and the concert marked the tenth anniversary of his untimely death at the age of thirty-three - poignantly he wrote the album while he was dying of cancer. The album offers a musical journey - producing pounding bass rhythms, hesitant strings, gradual and also unexpected crescendos, brass epic grandeur, haunting Gaelic voices, thematic stirring pipes and also humour. The Grit album is about pushing the boundaries and limitations.

The orchestra of over 80 musicians on the Glasgow concert hall stage tonight consisted of mostly younger folk, jazz and classical musicians. I expect they enjoyed playing a new piece that felt contemporary yet drawing strongly on past traditions. 

Conductor Greg appeared overcome as he reached the summit tonight, after years in the planning and he commented that he needed a crash helmet as it felt like his head might explode!

  

I The first half was of songs from the Grit album and performed by a cast of accomplished Scottish singers - Quebec quartet LeVent Du Nord began with strong harmonies; followed by Fiona Hunter who sang Berry fields of Blair and Young Emslie with Mike Vass on guitar; Rab Noakes sang MacPherson's Rant and To Each and Everyone of You. Gaelic singer Isabel Ann Martin sang beautifully accompanied by Donald Shaw on piano.

II For the second half the full orchestra played the entire GRIT album. Even the word Grit produces earthy, real connotations. Lawson commented that folk music draws strongly on solid music roots, but  ike a river needs to play and experiment with those traditions in order not to stay stagnant and to be brought into the modern age.

On Blackbird male choral voices were brought into the modern age with dancing African drumbeats, resonating textures and bass beats. On the track Why there were soothing strings and clarinet along with Karen Matheson haunting voice. The Wedding track was heart breaking with hesitant, sad, subdued strings when a song breaks the stillness with happier times and then with a dynamic sax melody.  

Bennet's music shifted on its axis taking sound into new orbits - ground breaking and energizing. For anyone who thinks folk music is backward looking this concert was highly innovative with jazz, rock elements, classical, Gaelic songs, MORE!  I have never seen an orchestra bobbing up and down and enjoying themselves so much - especially all those eight double bass players!

Only a few concerts put a smile on your face but this one did!

Bennett - ‘Try and find those things that make us Scottish. They are not necessarily tartan, but are no less colorful. They are in the sound of the kick drum, the bass line, the distortion, the punk guitar, the break-beat. Try and see the old ways in new surroundings.‘

'This album was a chance for me to present a truthful picture, yet face my own reflection in the great mirror of all cultures.’
http://www.martynbennett.com

In the studio, he traversed and transcended boundaries, of multiple levels, from that of image – as ‘the dreadlocked piper’ – to those of genre, art-form and audience.

PS Renowned traditional Scottish folk singer Dick Gaughan decided to withdraw from the concert as it was being filmed by the BBC and due to his feeling strongly that the BBC bias during the referendum was intolerable for him.  He is performing his own concert during Celtic –
 'Scots music has never sounded like this before. No music has ever sounded like this before’ Mojo

GRIT Track listing

1.      'Move' – 4.10 Minutes

2.      'Blackbird' – 6.10 Minutes

3.      'Chanter' – 4.10 Minutes

4.      'Nae Regrets' – 3.50 Minutes

5.      'Liberation' – 4.20 Minutes

6.      'Why' – 4.30 Minutes

7.      'Ale House' – 3.50 Minutes

8.      'Wedding' – 5.45 Minutes

9.      'Rant' – 4.31 Minutes

10.   'Storyteller' – 9.39 Minutes

Filmed by the BBC the concert will be shown 22nd January 9pm - 

Here’s a BBC slip of Chanter  -  http://www.bbc.co.uk/martynbennettegrit

Music journalist Sue Wilson is presently writing Bennett’s autobiography.

*CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2015!

Transatlantic Sessions

Fred Morrison

Julie Fowlis

CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2015 starts next week on 15^th January!

Celtic is one of the music highlights of the Scottish calendar, with many top musicians worldwide and such interesting collaborations. Celtic is the world biggest folk music festival - with over 2000 performers, 300 shows, over 18 days and 20 venues.

Van Morrison is the biggest name this year.

Other highlights include, Fairport Convention, Eddi Reader, King Creosote, Skerryvore, Roaming Roots Revue, Braebach and more.

The main concerts are held at the festival.s centre, The Glasgow Concert Hall, which will host many of the bigger names and concerts;

Glasgow Concert Hall

The Opening concert will feature the music of Scottish composer Martin Bennett's Grit album with the full orchestra.

There is a tribute concert to celebrated songwriter and folk legend Ewan MacColl (1915 - 1989) hosted by his sons Calum and Neill - with Dick Gaughan, Martin Carthy, Karine Polwart, Jarvis Cocker and Eliza Carthy.

A show of the award winning Hollywood composer Craig Armstrong new album it's Nearly Tomorrow with singers Paul Buchanan, and Brett Anderson. His cinema scores include Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby and Romeo and Juliet.

Other highlights include - Fairport Convention, Eddi Reader, King Creosote, and world music with the exuberant soul of African singer Angelique Kidjo and the Scottish National Orchetra.

And of course the sold out Transatlantic Sessions with top musicians form Scotland and America joining forces – led by fiddler Aly Bain and dubro player Jerry Douglas. 

Nicola Benedetti

Rab Noakes

The Old Fruitmarket often hosts fun celeidh bands; The City Halls for seated concerts; The O2 ABC Sauchiehall street for some of the younger indie bands. The Oran Mor and St Andrews on the Square will hold smaller concerts – which can also be outstanding events with creative and top artists. You can check the festival’s online brochure for more details. http://www.celticconnections.com/

Angelique Kidjo

It is also well worth checking out the open mics at the Danny Kyle stage for new talent and also the Late Sessions which so many of the performers turn up for.

 Celtic Connections 2015  - 'music that is personal and unique'. Music that holds hundreds of stories like the big old tree.  http://www.celticconnections.com/

 

French Murders

Gunmen shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an apparent militant Islamist attack. I don’t know what this achieves…

I don't understand these "extremists" groups or what they hope to achieve through the murders of innocents.

If they feel downtrodden OR unheard they should take a leaf from the Black civil rights movements - they had their voices heard through MUSIC, POETRY and ART - and this works far far better!!

Here is William Bell and the beautiful Josh Stone singing together at the New Year!

http://youtu.be/williambelljoshstone

Apartheid (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ɐˈpartɦɛit]; an Afrikaans word meaning "the state of being apart", literally "apart-hood") was a system of racial segregation in South Africa enforced through legislation by the National Party (NP) governments, the ruling party from 1948 to 1994.

I hope people in large numbers from what ever culture, background or country they come from, can speak against terrorism of any kind for the evil it surely is - and speak up for good, education and rights for all.

ISIS apparently want to kill all non-Muslims? Is this true? If so what on earth is religion about? If religion is connected to culture and tribalism then how can the world be only one tribe – that would means the end of tribes, it all makes no sense at all to me.

The other narrative is that George Bush and Tony Blair, decided to over threo Saddam Hussein to avenge the 9/11 attacks on New York and left a vacuum in Iraq which has been now been filled with people with no education, lots of money and advanced weaponry.